Welcome
In two centuries of American ornithology, The Birds of North America
(BNA) is only the fourth comprehensive reference covering the life
histories of North America’s breeding birds. Following in the footsteps
of Wilson, Audubon, and Bent, BNA provides a quantum leap in
information beyond what those historic figures were able to assemble.
The print version of BNA was completed in 2002 – 18 volumes, 18,000
pages -- a joint 10 year project of the American Ornithologists' Union, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,
and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Now as an online project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BNA is
becoming a living resource. Account contents are updated frequently,
with contributions from researchers, citizen scientists, and designated
reviewers and editors. In addition, BNA Online contains image and video
galleries showing plumages, behaviors, habitat, nests and eggs, and
more. And most online BNA accounts now feature recordings of the songs
and calls of their species, recordings selected from the extensive
collection of Cornell's Macaulay Library
of Natural Sounds. Future work will enhance BNA’s audio and video
contributions, speed revisions via efforts coordinated online, and
provide a significant boost to the number of photos available to
subscribers. Stay tuned!
What's New in BNA
Update (June 2009) New Photos Added-- New life history photos added by Gerrit Vyn. Updated galleries include: American Tree Sparrow, Black Turnstone, Common Eider, Northern Waterthrush, Rock Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Yellow Wagtail.Are you an AOU member trying to login to BNA? Please read this first.
Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Bronzed Cowbird. Revised by Kevin Ellison and Peter E. Lowther.
Update (June 2009) New Photos Added-- Over 100 new life history photos added by Vic Berardi, Ray Whitt, Craig Gibson, Amber Burnette and others. Updated galleries include: Mississippi Kite, Red-tailed Hawk, American Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Orchard Oriole, Pileated Woodpecker, Whiskered Screech-Owl and many others.
Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Red-tailed Tropicbird. Revised by Betty Anne Schreiber.
Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Black Tern. Revised by Shane R. Heath.
Update (May 2009) New Audio Added-- Over 70 new songs and calls added, courtesy of the Macaulay Library. Updated galleries include: Gyrfalcon, Red Crossbill, Rock Ptarmigan, Mourning Dove, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-footed Albatross, Blackburnian Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch and White-winged Scoter.
